A new report from the American Meteorological Society (AMS) says there has been an increase in both land and ocean temperatures, a rise in sea levels and greenhouse gas emissions which have resulted in changes to the planet’s climate system.

The ‘State of the Climate 2014’ report says there has been an increase in tropical cyclones, Arctic ice is melting and concentrations of carbon in the atmosphere averaged at 397.2 parts per million (ppm).

This compares with a global average of 354 ppm when the report was first published in 1990.

One of the report’s authors, Professor Peter Thorne from Maynooth University, said it confirmed the planet’s climate was changing.

“The 2014 report confirms yet again that we live in a world under-going rapid climate change,” he said.

“The numbers are in and there is no room for reasonable doubt that the climate system continues to warm with record high sea-levels, record ocean heat content and record warm sea surface temperatures.”

In Ireland, 2014 saw the warmest year since 2008 in several weather stations.